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NASA astronaut Mike Fincke retires after 30 years at the space agency
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NASA astronaut Mike Fincke has retired after 30 years at the U.S. space agency, NASA announced Wednesday (Aug. 12). With four launches and nine spacewalks under his belt, Fincke leaves as NASA's fourth-most-flown astronaut. “Few people have had the opportunity to shape as many chapters of NASA’s history as Mike Fincke,” Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. His career spanned from early shuttle-era missions to the commercial crew program, making him a bridge between generations of spaceflight.
Fincke accumulated 549 days in space over four separate missions. He commanded the International Space Station twice, most recently as pilot of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission, stepping into the commander role for Expedition 74 from August 2025 to January 2026. That stint, however, was cut short due to an unexpected medical issue affecting the Crew-11 astronauts. Prior to that, he commanded Expedition 18 in 2008, overseeing the station's expansion from three to six crew members.
His path to orbit began with two bachelor's degrees from MIT in aeronautics and astronautics, and Earth science. He later earned master's degrees from Stanford and the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Before joining NASA's 16th astronaut class in 1996, Fincke served in the U.S. Air Force, graduating from Test Pilot School and working at Edwards and Eglin Air Force bases, plus a stint on the Japanese-U.S. F-2 fighter program.
After astronaut training, he was assigned to Russia, serving as CAPCOM and crew procedures lead for the station program. His first launch was Soyuz TMA-4 in 2004, as science officer for Expedition 9, with four spacewalks. In 2011, he flew on space shuttle Endeavour's final mission, STS-134, installing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and performing the last shuttle-era spacewalks.
In 2014, Fincke became chief of the Commercial Crew Branch, playing a key role in developing and testing SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's Starliner. He was later assigned to Boeing's Crew Flight Test as joint operations commander, remaining on the prime crew until 2022.
Isaacman's tribute highlighted Fincke's unique impact across multiple NASA eras. His departure comes as NASA increasingly relies on commercial partners for low-Earth orbit access. Fincke's legacy will influence the next generation of astronauts as the agency prepares for lunar and Mars missions.
